Why Token-Based Polling is Better than Sliced Bread

There’s a new request in town, and it goes by the name “Request New Device Data” (and boy, does it mean business!).

In ye olde tyme Gas Measurement Repository (GMR), there was only one way to get data from the field, and that was by using date-based requests. When using a date-based request, you essentially are asking the devices: “What data do you have from 3 days ago until today?” This approach works for some cases, but isn’t very robust in other scenarios, many which are unforeseeable. Administrators typically need to build safety nets to handle any communication down times so that there is no data left uncollected.

CygNet Measurement has a better way to handle your data requests. When requesting data using the new FMS data groups, you now have a new question you can ask your field devices: “What new data do you have since the last time I asked?” What does this question do that the date-based command cannot? Well, take a gander at this list:

Reduces polling overhead

Allows for partial successes

Eliminates missing data holes and the need to fill them

Creates synergy between user-demand polls and scheduled polls

Has built-in command throttling

In the coming weeks, I will be going over each of these points in detail so you can have a better technical understanding of how these advantages work and their real world implications.